If you've ever tried to overhaul a garden, you know you're bound to find broken bits of pottery and long-forgotten statuary swallowed by vines -- but for one couple, that imitation of archaeological discovery turned into the real thing. At first glance, the marble slab etched in Latin -- including the phrase "spirits of the dead" -- might have looked like a mass-produced facsimile designed to lend a garden a little decorative gravitas.
The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, members of Congress said Thursday, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas. It's not clear why the laser was deployed, but it's the second time in two weeks that one has been fired in the area. read more
People had voiced concern over Olive's tendency to break into routine customer interactions with fictional details about its life and family.
Netflix Inc. dropped out of the fight to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., clearing the way for rival bidder Paramount Skydance Corp. to clinch its $111 billion deal for the historic Hollywood studio. read more
Geometry of tread patterns determines frequency, so blocks were designed to play Star Wars music.
Tangentially related ...
OpEd: Microsoft undercuts its kinder, gentler image with big ICE contract
www.computerworld.com
... But an investigation published a week ago by the UK's The Guardian and its partners +972 Magazine and Local Call reported that ICE is storing vast amounts of data on Microsoft's Azure cloud storage and using Microsoft AI tools to search and analyze that data. It found ICE is also using many of Microsoft's productivity tools and may be running its own tools and systems on Microsoft servers.
The investigation discovered that the amount of data ICE stores on Microsoft's cloud more than tripled in just a few months, from 400 terabytes to 1,400 terabytes between July 2025 and January 2026. Why the massive increase? Because Congress increased ICE's budget in July by $75 billion, making it the country's highest-funded US law enforcement body. ICE promptly went on a tech spending spree, in part to increase its surveillance capabilities.
The Guardian reports on the vast reach of that surveillance: "ICE, which has been likened to a domestic surveillance agency, enjoys access to vast troves of data on people living in the US. It has a growing arsenal of surveillance technology, including facial recognition apps, phone location databases, drones and invasive spyware." ...
Last September, Microsoft revoked the Israeli army's access to the company's Azure cloud storage because the army was using it for mass surveillance in Palestine. So the company does have a history of ending deals with government agencies for moral reasons. ...
Anthropic sees support from other tech workers in feud with Pentagon
www.mercurynews.com
... Anthropic PBC got a vote of support from Silicon Valley workers for its increasingly contentious public-relations battle with the Pentagon over how the military can use artificial intelligence.
Two coalitions of workers -- including employees of Amazon.com Inc., Google, Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI -- are asking their companies to join Anthropic in refusing to comply with Defense Department demands for unrestricted use of AI products.
"We are writing to urge our own companies to also refuse to comply should they or the frontier labs they invest in enter into further contracts with the Pentagon," a coalition of labor unions and other groups representing workers at Alphabet Inc., Amazon and Microsoft said in a letter posted early Friday.
The letters, and similar support for Anthropic from tech executives on social media, show how a tussle between one AI company and the Pentagon could mushroom into an industry-wide battle over how best to deploy the powerful technology safely.
Anthropic and the US military have been in talks over what exactly the armed forces can do with its tools. The richly valued startup, which has pitched itself as a cautious and responsible AI developer, insists that its products, including the Claude chatbot, not be used for surveillance of US citizens or to carry out lethal strikes without human involvement. ...
In the open letter posted Friday, workers with groups including Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, the Alphabet Workers Union, No Tech for Apartheid and No Azure for Apartheid sought to connect Anthropic's stand to employee efforts to get their companies to disclose more about the services they sell to state agencies taking part in President Donald Trump's deportation push.
"Executive leadership at Google, Microsoft and Amazon must reject the Pentagon's advances and provide workers with transparency about contracts with other repressive state agencies including DHS, CBP and ICE," they said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Another letter, published earlier this week and signed by Google and OpenAI employees, urged executives to put aside their differences "and stand together to continue to refuse the Department of War's current demands for permission to use our models for domestic mass surveillance and autonomously killing people without human oversight." ...
@#9 ... Because our government currently believes it is at war with the American people. ...
But only if they are Democrats.
An update...
Trump tells government to stop using Anthropic's AI systems
www.nbcnews.com
... On X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he had moved to label Anthropic as a "supply chain risk" and cancel further Defense business with the company.
Shortly afterwards, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X that he would direct the Defense Department to label Anthropic a "Supply-Chain Risk to National Security."
The move, usually reserved for foreign adversaries, would bar any military contractor or supplier from doing business with Anthropic. Both Hegseth and Trump announced agencies would have six months to phase out any existing federal business with Anthropic.
Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company, led by CEO Dario Amodei, has made clear in months of contract negotiations with the Pentagon that it would not allow its AI systems to be harnessed for domestic surveillance or direct use in lethal autonomous weapons. ...
Epstein files contain explicit but unsubstantiated claim that Trump abused minor
www.theguardian.com
... Three memos that describe four interviews conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2019 contain explicit but unsubstantiated claims that Donald Trump sexually abused a woman when she was a minor in the early 1980s with the assistance of Jeffrey Epstein, according to a Guardian review of those documents.
The Department of Justice did not release those records when it uploaded millions of pages of files related to Epstein beginning in December. The existence of the missing documents was first reported by independent journalist Roger Sollenberger and subsequently confirmed by NPR, causing outrage in Washington and sparking an investigation from congressional Democrats.
The Guardian obtained the missing FBI form 302 reports, which memorialize 25 pages of agents' notes from the four interviews conducted in the summer and fall of 2019. The notes describe how the woman came forward to tell agents she recognized Epstein from a photo sent by a childhood friend. Only the first session, in which she did not name Trump, made it into the public release. The Guardian has chosen not to publish the woman's name. ...
FedEx says it will return to customers any refunds it gets back from Trump's illegal tariffs
www.ksbw.com
... Delivery company FedEx said in a statement on Thursday that it will return any tariff refund it might get to shippers and customers who paid them.
The statement came after FedEx filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade to request a refund on what it paid for tariffs set by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the IEEPA tariffs are illegal.
More than 1,000 companies have filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in efforts to recoup costs from the illegal tariffs, including large U.S. corporations like Costco and Revlon.
"If refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges," FedEx said in a statement on Thursday. "When that will happen and the exact process for requesting and issuing refunds will depend in part on future guidance from the government and the court." ...
@#5
Found this ...
How Netflix Forced Paramount to Cough Up More for Warner Bros.
finance.yahoo.com
... David Ellison finally got what he wanted but his prize didn't come cheap.
His pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. was nearly thwarted by a wealthy rival suitor, Netflix Inc., which ultimately forced Ellison's Paramount Skydance Corp. to shell out at least $31 billion more than it planned for the legendary Hollywood studio.
The staggering price, representing one of the biggest media deals in the past decade, came to $31-a-share in cash, or $111 billion including debt, and was high enough for Netflix to walk away rather than increase its offer of $27.75.
Ellison had to add in other sweeteners too, including securing additional backing of his billionaire father, taking on $57.5 billion in debt and agreeing to pay the $2.8 billion breakup fee to Netflix.
"We engaged with four bidders, which led to eight price increases and have thus far achieved a 63% increase in value versus the first offer received in September, delivering significant value for WBD shareholders throughout the process," Warner Bros. Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav told investors on a recent call to discuss earnings. ...
... the swath of young, mostly male, voters that he influenced and brought to the Republican Party in recent years. ...
Pres Trump seems to be driving them away.
Young Voters Are Turning Away From Trump.
time.com
... One year into President Donald Trump's second term, a key demographic that helped him win the White House is abandoning him in droves.
Trump's support among young people has cratered over the last year, according to several recent polls"the drop among young men has been particularly stark. ...
The decline among young men is particularly notable because Trump won the group in 2024 after his campaign courted them heavily, a strategy that led him to make appearances on podcasts popular with the demographic, such as Joe Rogan and Theo Von.
A poll last week from the nonpartisan think tank Third Way shows that Trump's job approval has declined among young men aged 18-29, with 32% approving and 66% disapproving of his performance in office.
The reasons for the decline are varied -- he has lost ground on issues ranging from the economy and immigration to foreign policy and healthcare. ...
Even CNN's MAGA Star Admits They Fumbled by Inviting Hillary to Destroy Them
www.yahoo.com
... CNN's resident MAGA panelist is at a loss about why Republicans demanded Hillary Clinton testify about her relationship with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Scott Jennings appeared on NewsNight with Abby Phillip on Thursday and admitted that he didn't see the benefit of deposing Clinton. He suggested that dragging her in front of Congress was a shot in the dark and hoped that her husband's testimony would be more worthwhile. ...
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